


Cuddlemonster

by Era_Penn



Series: imaginetonyandbucky fills [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Assassins, Cuddling, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Prompt Fill, brainwashing (minor), fluffy fluff, heh, mission parameters, split personalities (minor), the Soldier is convinced Tony is the boss, with added fluffiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 07:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7791898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Era_Penn/pseuds/Era_Penn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Imagine cuddlemonster!tony meets the winter soldier and don't realize it's not his normal Bucky, the soldier is confused but then thinks that cuddling Tony is his new assignment. After that every time Bucky is in the winter soldier mindset he starts to hug Tony and won't let go of him. He still does whatever the winter soldier does in his free time but he holds onto Tony while doing it. (like brooding in dark corners …with Tony!)</p><p>Cross-posted at imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cuddlemonster

The Soldier spends his time tucked into corners with a good view of the room and lounging on loveseats pushed back into that corner. Usually the one with the gun and knife duct taped to the underside, because Clint and Natasha are paranoid. Not that the soldier recognizes that part, so much. Generally, everyone leaves the Soldier be until he is _himselfbutnothimself_ again, and he lounges. He’s a bit bemused by the lack of a given mission, so he keeps a lookout for one that he may have missed.

It’s about three weeks after _himselfbutnothimself_ brought them to this tower when he realizes what his mission is supposed to be. Tony Stark is the one who assigns it to him, which the Soldier sees as very proper; even though everyone acts like the Captain is in charge, the Soldier know the one with either the money or the tools is the one actually in command, and Tony Stark has both. He isn’t sure why they pretend otherwise, but he goes along with it.

On this particular day the soldier is lounging in the loveseat, shoved into the appropriate corner, when Tony Stark comes wobbling into the room. There’s engine grease on his hands and his eyes are a bit glazed over. The Soldier know this means that Tony Stark is tired, and has probably been working too long on his latest tools. He’ll probably go straight to bed. Much to the Soldier’s surprise, though, when he shifts to let Tony Stark know he is there, the billionaire zeroes in on him and wobbles over. He carefully climbs onto the loveseat, the Soldier confused and waiting for Tony Stark to give him a command, and settles onto his lap. Tony Stark wraps his limbs around the Soldier like an octopus, tucks his face into the Soldier’s neck, and falls asleep in moments. The Soldier is confused for a moment, because until now Tony Stark has barely interacted with him; the others seem nervous when the Soldier is too close to Tony Stark. 

Then it dawns on him. This must be his Mission! He is to ensure Tony Stark gets plenty of cuddles and rest, in order to be prepared for anything which might demand his attention. So the Soldier wraps his arms around Tony Stark’s back and settles back in to watch the door. He’ll have to guard carefully to ensure Tony Stark isn’t woken up, with Clint Barton and the loud one called Thor wandering around.

* * *

Clint Barton barely restrains a shriek of fear when he enters the living room and a knife buries itself in the doorjamb next to his head.

“ _Quiet_ ,” growls the Soldier, drawing Clint’s attention. His jaw drops open as he stares. Sitting in the loveseat, the Soldier is cuddling Tony Stark. Clint would bet his life savings on what had happened, too.

Clint and the other Avengers were well aware of Tony’s tendency to work until he dropped. Most of them had, at one point or another, been a victim of Tony’s mindless cuddling when he was utterly exhausted. He never seemed to notice who he was cuddling with, either. Clint would bet that Tony had come up in just such a state, and the Soldier was the only one around, so boom! Cuddles. Realizing that the Soldier was still staring at him, Clint nodded rapidly and silently, signing his agreement, and back out of the room.

“Jarvis, please tell me you’ve got pictures of this,” he gasps, trying desperately not to burst into loud laughter.

“Of course,” Jarvis replies, amused. “I am live-streaming the situation to Captain Rogers and Ms. Romanov, who discovered it earlier.”

Clint groaned - Natasha would never let him live that down.

Little do any of them know this is just the beginning.

* * *

Tony is hard at work in his shop the next time it happens. 

“Sir,” Jarvis interrupted, “the Soldier is requesting entry.”

“Awesome, let him in!” Tony said happily. 

The door opened and the Soldier made a beeline for Tony, who blinked as he approached. “Hey there, what’s - oompf!”

Tony blinked as the Soldier scooped him up, hugged him, and dragged him over to the couch, where he set Tony down. He then pushed the couch into a corner with a good sightline to the rest of the room. Then the he laid down next to Tony, between Tony and the door.

“Uh, what?” he asked. “I have to work, there’s work, I need to -”

“Sh,” the Soldier said, and proceeded to cuddle Tony into submission.

It was the beginning of a trend.

* * *

“Tony?” Steve asked, staring at him. Tony was tucked into Steve’s art cupboard, clearly hiding.

“Sh! I’m hiding from Winter.”

Steve nodded like that made sense.

“What is going on?” Tony asked, because he had no idea what to do with all the affection and cuddles the Soldier kept giving him. Bucky had started doing it too, though generally more teasingly. “When did this even start?”

“If I may,” Jarvis interjected, “this began after one of your longer workshop sessions. When you emerged, the first person you encountered was the Soldier. You proceeded to fall asleep on him. He seems to believe this is his Mission.”

Steve and Tony blinked at each other. Steve nodded at him, grabbed a set of charcoals, and swung the cupboard door shut again.

* * *

“Again?” Bruce asked.

“Shove off,” Bucky growled.

Tony blinked blearily at him and made a small noise of confusion. Bucky’s glower at Bruce deepened, and the physicist backed off. Still, his lips twitched as he eyed the two brunets on the couch. Tony was tucked underneath Bucky, hand wrapped around and tangled in the back of Bucky’s shirt. Bucky’s hands wrapped around under Tony’s back. 

He might give them a lot of shit, but Bruce figured this was a good thing. Both men looked so much better these days. Tony had even gained a little weight.

Tony’s eyes drifted shut and he hid his face against Bucky’s shoulder.

They were so adorable, Bruce swore Hulk was purring in the back of his head.

“Jarvis, add this to my blackmail folder,” Bruce said.

“Right away, Doctor Banner.”

* * *

Natasha pinpointed the moment the cuddling moved into actual dating. Mostly because she overheard the conversation that led to the latter. She was tucked away in the corner of a couch in the common area, which was otherwise devoid of life, when she heard them. They weren’t exactly being subtle; she suspected they didn’t realize she was there.

Bucky and Tony raced up the stairs from the workshop. Tony was ahead of him, Bucky hot on his heels. “Oi,” Bucky yelled, “Would you just _talk_ to me for a minute!?”

“No,” Tony replied. Sadly for Tony, he could not outrun a determined ex-soviet-assassin on a good day, and judging by the state of his hair, this was more like day three without sleep. Which was never a good thing.

Bucky caught him by the wrist, tugged him around, and buried Tony against his chest. “What has gotten into you?” Bucky asked.

“You don’t have to keep doing this!” Tony finally exploded. “I know the Soldier thinks cuddling me is his - his mission, or whatever, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep…”

“Oh - oh, you don’t like - I’m sorry,” Bucky said.

“What? Why are you sorry? That doesn’t -”

“I like cuddling you,” Bucky said quietly. “It’s not - it isn’t a chore, or anything. It’s nice.”

“...Oh,” Tony mumbled, so low Natasha barely heard it.

“Yeah, ‘oh,’ genius! _Now_ can we go out to lunch?”

Tony nodded against Bucky’s chest, and Natasha smirked. She just won the betting pool, and probably a cruise.

* * *

“Put the billionaire down,” Fury ordered.

The Soldier frowned and ignored him. Tony’s lips were twitching, but he was valiantly trying not to smirk. His rumpled suit was torn in several places, and the Iron Man armor had been practically in pieces by the end of the fight. The Soldier had stalked over as soon as the fighting was done, ripped what was left away from Tony, and proceeded to give him a piggy-back ride everywhere for the remainder of cleanup. Now, well into debrief, he had Tony tucked casually on his lap.

“Sir, that’s not going to work,” Natasha said, bored.

“And why not, Agent Romanov?” he demanded, as Tony, unable to hold it in any longer, started smirking widely.

“Well, the Soldier seems to think it’s his mission to coddle Tony Stark into submission,” she replied, “And it’s only gotten worse since last week when Barnes finally got his shit together and took him on a date.”

A long, long pause.

“Damn. That means you won the betting pool,” Bruce sighs from across the room. “You couldn’t have held out for one more week?” he asked Tony.

“Uh,” Tony squeaked. “No, I guess? Wait, that was a date?”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally. 

“According to the pool,” Bruce said, grinning, “It doesn’t count unless both parties know it is a date, and, should they realize after the fact, the day it is recognized is the actual victor.”

Tony’s eyes widened as Natasha turned her glare on him. “I’m sorry!” he said. “I didn’t - I didn’t realize -”

“Idiot,” Bucky grumbled, easing out of the Soldier mindstate. “Obviously it was a date.”

“Oh,” Tony said. “Good. Is debrief over yet?”

Fury glowered.


End file.
